1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method for the isothermal compression of a compressible medium, preferably air, for the operation of a turbomachine which is intended to generate energy and in which a pressurized liquid, preferably water, is atomized by means of an atomization device and, together with the air, forms a liquid-air mixture which, in order to be compressed, is introduced into a nozzle arrangement in which most of the kinetic energy of the liquid-air mixture is converted into compression energy as a result of the pressure of the air increasing. The invention furthermore describes an atomization device and a nozzle arrangement.
2. Discussion of Background
To produce energy, it is proposed, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,797,563, to supply a gas turbine with isothermally precompressed air which is accelerated along a descending gradient, which is designed as a horizontal chute, as a liquid-air mixture, by means of the force of gravity and is compressed in a pressure chamber which adjoins the bottom end of the chute, where the air is separated from the liquid again. The air which has been compressed in this way is then fed to the combustion chamber of a gas turbine, within which the highly compressed air which is at a low temperature level is mixed with fuel and ignited. The principal advantages of the isothermal compression are, firstly, the fact that there is no need for conventional compressor stages which are driven by the gas turbine and consequently impair the efficiency of the overall gas-turbine plant, and secondly the fact that the precompressed air, which is at a relatively low temperature, is able to impose considerably lower thermal loads on the components of the plant which come into thermal contact with this air, with the result that the requirements imposed in the individual components of the plant can be reduced.
The principle of isothermal compression, which is known per se and is described in the abovementioned U.S. Pat. No. 4,797,563, is an interesting possibility which appears to point the way forward for providing air to gas turbine plants in precompressed form, and consequently it is desirable to optimize this technology. In particular, the efficiency of compressor arrangements of this nature is to be increased, in order in this way to improve the overall efficiency of energy-producing plants, and in this case, in particular, gas-turbine plants.